It was “common gossip” at the BBC that Jimmy Savile liked young girls and the
corporation gave him and others “too much licence” in a misguided attempt to
engage with popular culture, according to Jeremy Paxman.

The Newsnight presenter told the inquiry into the Savile scandal that
the BBC “had behaved just like many other authorities” in refusing to
believe the allegations made by the late DJ’s victims.

Mr Paxman was highly critical of BBC bosses “preoccupied with their pensions”
and suggested the corporation’s decision to cancel a Newsnight
investigation into Savile was partly due to the dominance of “BBC